Calcutta University (CU) is having a trying time rescheduling the dates of a series of major under-graduate examinations coinciding with two events slated for next month — the panchayat polls on May 11 and a Bharat bandh proposed for May 21.

Consequently, CU will also be required to reschedule the time-tables of the BA and B.Sc Part I (general) examinations, slated to begin on June 4, the university’s exam department officers said. Never before in recent times have they been required to change the dates of so many examinations in a single season.

The CU under-graduate exams will have to be put off as the premises of many of its 220 affiliated colleges, located on the outskirts of the city, have been taken over by the election department for holding the panchayat polls. The premises, where university exams are also held, will be handed back to the colleges after vote-counting is completed. Of the 220 CU-affiliated colleges, most are in Calcutta.

The BA, B.Sc and B. Com Part II (general) exams slated for May 11 and 12 will have to be put off because though the panchayat elections will be held on May 11, a Sunday, the premises will remain under the election department’s control for vote-counting for the next two days.

The papers of the BA and B.Sc Part I honours, which are slated for May 21, will also have to be postponed for the bandh.

“The time-tables of all our major under-graduate examinations were decided much before the dates of the panchayat election and the proposed Bharat bandh were announced. We are finding it difficult to reschedule so many dates together,” said Onkar Sadhan Adhikari, controller of examinations.

Officers of the university’s examination department are trying to ensure that the new dates are convenient for the students, Adhikari said. The revised dates are likely to be announced by this week.

Examination department officers said what aggravated the problem is the new system introduced by the university from last year, on the basis of a state government directive, asking it to complete all major exams during the summer vacation.

“Going by the new system, we have to complete all under-graduate exams by June-end, when all colleges reopen after summer holidays. It is extremely difficult to meet the target in this situation,” said a university officer. The government order was aimed at ensuring minimum loss of classes when the examinations are held.